Loralei's Story (working title)
by The Scribbler1
Summary: My version of what would have happened if Qui-gon Jinn had killed Darth Maul instead of the other way around. Please R/R. My first Star Wars fic.
1. Reflections

**(Insert Clever Title Here)**

This is my version of what would have happened if Qui-gon Jinn had killed Darth Maul instead of the other way around in The Phantom Menace.

I always write late at night, around two in the morning, so anything demented in these stories is a result of the day's actions. Sorry 'bout that. Things can get a little crazy in some of my other storys.

This is my first Star Wars fic. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISISM, people! I need it! I've only seen TPM and AOTC, I'm still trying to find the classic trilogy. I haven't read any of the books yet, either. So, anything that's incorrect, like names for what not, sorry 'bout that. I'm still learning. Correct me, please!

Things in this story will get started rather quickly, sorry about the lack of detail and emotion to this first part. There's some in the second and it'll get better, or at least I should think it will.

Any title suggestions for this are welcome. Post them in a review, if you don't mind. ^_^ I'm really bad at titles, so... any help would be appreciated.

All characters are work of George Lucas except those that are work of Lissa M. Rose (me), aka The Scribbler. Yada yada yada. Lucas is god.

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Loralei Trelwar sighed softly in exasperation, running a pale hand through her long hair. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Loralei, you need to hurry... we'll be leaving soon." Her mother. Loralei made a face and stood up from her seat on her bed, crossed the room in three long strides, and opened the door.

"Mother! I wish you wouldn't bother me like that. I don't know what to do with my hair. Besides, if you hadn't accepted this invitation, we wouldn't be going to this stupid parade in the first plae..."

"Loralei, our planet was almost destroyed by droids. Everyone got an invitation from Queen Amidala, Chancellor Valorum, and Boss Nass, and we're going to the celebration." Gwendolyn Trelwar said firmly, entering Loralei's room in a huff. She grabbed her daughter's arm and steered her toward the bed, where the pale girl sat down, glowering, as her mother braided and pinned up her hair hastily.

"There, now." Gwendolyn stepped back and eyed her daughter briefly, before nodding. "You'll do. Come, we'll walk to the parade together." The Trelwar residence was only a stone's through from the palace.

Loralei nodded, knowing it was useless to argue or protest, and silently followed her mother from the room, down the hall, and outside, where the steady buzz of the crowd gathered around the palace steps was almost deafening.

"I'm going to go find your father. You run along with your friends. We'll not expect you home until late, alright?" Loralei's mother said.

"Alright, alright... see you." Loralei turned and started off into the crowd hesitantly. Her mother's call of 'Be careful!' was lost in the din as she submerged herself totally within the blustering mob of people.

She wandered aimlessly for a while, disinterested in whatever all the people were cheering about. All she cared about now was getting away from it all. As soon as she suspected her mother couldn't see her, she slipped out of the crowd and made her way to an empty sidestreet, climbing the stairs at the end of it that led to the roof. She often sat on the roof of this building, and nobody had noticed before. She was delighted to find a place away from the hustle and bustle below. Grinning, she sat down on the edge, idly glancing down at the columns of Gungans.

_You can't blame them,_ she told herself, _their planent... our planet... was almost taken over by the Trade Federation._ Loralei wasn't used to saying she was from Naboo, yet. Her home was on Coruscant, in an highrise apartment (a/n: do they even have those? *confused about Coruscant* I'm taking a blind stab at it. No more a/ns, I promise.), away from everything. She'd rarely left the building.

The redhead sighed softly, watching the parade in throughtful silence. She was about to get up and explore the other roofs when an arm was thrown around her waist and a hand clapped over her mouth.

A man, behind her. She froze, not knowing if he had a weapon or not, not knowing what to do.

The hand dropped from her mouth for a split second, and when he rose again it was clutching a blaster. Her eyes widened as the weapon was pointed toward her head.

"Scream, and I'll shoot you." The voice came from behind her right ear - she could feel his breath on her neck, and a chill ran down her spine.

"Now, what's a pretty girl like you doing away from all the fun? Shouldn't you be down there watching the parade?" He was mocking her, and she knew it, but forced herself not to get angry. It wouldn't help, she knew.

"I got tired of everyone pushing me around." She said simply. "And what do you want with me?"

The man grabbed her arm and swung her around so she faced him, pointing the blaster directly at her forehead. He was tall and lean, but not thin. _He can't be more than thirty,_ she decided. He had dirty blond hair and sharp grey eyes, and he was grinning widely at her.

"You're dressed pretty well; I'd say your family will pay a handsome amount of credits for your safe return." 


	2. Green, blue, and black

**(Insert Clever Title Here)**

"Master, where did Anakin go?" Obi-wan Kenobi asked the older Jedi. Qui-gon Jinn turned toward Obi-wan.

"He ran off with the Queen. She's showing him around the city. I figured it would be nice for him to have some fun before his training with you began." The master replied.

Obi-wan was slightly relieved.

Qui-gon glanced upwards, staring at the sky thoughtfully.

"He is still to become your Padawan. I will help you with his training if I must, but I'd rather - Sith! What's going on up there?" He was pointing toward the roof of one of the buildings.

Obi-wan squinted into the sunlight, then frowned.

"Looks like a girl being kidnapped or something... the man's got a blaster at her head. Shall we go check it out?

Qui-gon was already moving toward the building.

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"My parents won't give you any money." Loralei's voice was tight; she was fighting with her anger.

The man ignored her. He seemed to realize that they were standing on the edge of the roof and would be spotted if someone looked up. Grabbing her arm, he shoved her roughly across the roof toward the far corner, opposite the stairs.

She stumbled slightly, but the man only gripped her forearm tighter and kept the blaster pointed toward her skull. "Sit down." He ordered.

She did as she was told, taking a seat against the wall directly opposite the stairs. He stood in front of her, blaster still pointed toward her forehead, but he seemed to be slightly distracted. _He's looking for something..._ she realized. Her kidnapper was going through his pockets with an air of confusion, almost panic.

A flash of green across the roof in the dark stairwell startled her. The green was followed closely by blue. She recognized them. Lightsabers!

Hope rushed through her veins but she tried to stay calm. She had to get the blaster away from her so the Jedi could do... well, so they could do whatever Jedi did in this type of situation. At least, she assumed they were Jedi... only Jedi carried that type of weapon. (a/n: sorry, had to put that in there ^_^;;)

"Can I stand up?" She was suddenly. The man glanced down at her.

"Why?" He stared at her dubiously, as if he had no idea why she'd want to stand up when she could sit.

"My clothes are getting dirty," She said, managing a pouty tone. _Oh EW! I am never going to care about my clothes again... I sound so stupid..._

The man shrugged and nodded, returning to his search. He lifted the blaster slightly, to about chest-height on her -- if she was standing.

But she wasn't. She knew he'd made a mistake there. The movement of the blaster was all she needed to put her last-minute plan into action. She started to stand, dusting off her shirt and pants as she did so. But when she got to her feet and was about to straighten, she kicked out with her right leg, kicking the man in the knee as hard as she possibly could.

The kick caught him full in the kneecap as well as offguard, and he fell, almost dropping the blaster. But reality slammed him in the face as Loralei took off in a randomly zig-zagging run. Lifting the hand that clutched the blaster, he opened fire on the girl, even in his fallen position. It was only then that he noticed the Jedi, but he didn't turn his fire away from his current target. He was mad.

Red light streaked around her; it was a wonder she hadn't been hit yet. Instinctively she ran faster, but her legs were like jelly. Suddenly a shot caught her in the shoulder, painfully. She cried out as white-hot fire leapt through her arm -- the force of the hit sent her flying, and she slammed onto the ground, forehead cracking against the rooftop._ The shot hit a nerve or something... oh gods it hurts... _ Blackness started to fuzz at the edges of her mind.

She was going to die, she realized -- or at least that's what the concious half of her brain was telling her. _One of those shots will hit something vital, you'll die, do something,_ it screamed, almost desperately, _do something!_

"But the Jedi... " She whispered back at it, too close to passing out to notice that she'd said it aloud. And sure enough, there they were. She didn't recognize them, but she recognized the green and blue lightsabers... and only Jedi carried that type of weapon, only Jedi... green and blue lightsabers safely between her and that horrible man, like a comforting hand on your should when you're scared... green, blue... then black. 


End file.
